


everyday people do everyday things (but you're not one of them)

by ladybuginettes (stylostique)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alya Zine 2019, Gen, Let's Pounce: An Alya Zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-13 19:56:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20179849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stylostique/pseuds/ladybuginettes
Summary: My submission for theLet's Pounce Zine! It's gorgeous and full of so much wonderful content and so much love for our best girl





	everyday people do everyday things (but you're not one of them)

**Author's Note:**

> My submission for the [Let's Pounce Zine](https://letspouncezine.tumblr.com)! It's gorgeous and full of so much wonderful content and so much love for our best girl

The supervillain of the day was a tough one, and Alya chewed her bottom lip while recording. Ladybug hit a wall with a nasty crack, and Alya winced, nearly dropping her camera. Despite knowing first hand how tough and protective Miraculous suits were, she couldn’t help but worry. 

Her grip tightened on her phone, hoping that Ladybug would call in reinforcements, for once not motivated by wanting to kick supervillain butt in action but rather by the pained groans and unnaturally twisted joints that Chat Noir and Ladybug — her _ friends — _exhibited. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a voice sounding suspiciously like Trixx whispered strategies that the three of them could use and how perfect she would be for taking this akuma down, but at that moment, she wouldn’t have minded seeing even Queen Bee suited up and fighting alongside the duo.

Magpie was a resentful jewel thief who’d been caught attempting to rob the Chaumet store and roughed up for resisting arrest. His status as a real criminal outside of akumatization seemed to make him far more ruthless and unscrupulous, fighting dirty and giving Ladybug and Chat Noir hardly any time to narrowly dodge his attacks, much less escape and regroup to strategize.

While recording, Alya noticed that Magpie seemed to be struggling not to distract himself with glittery lights or the odd reflection of a metallic surface on the ground, and an idea formed in her stressed brain. She pulled up her mother’s number and dialed.

“Maman!” she yelled as soon as Marlena picked up, “where’s the foil?”

“Alya, for heaven’s sake, it’s nearly eleven and it’s a school night! You need to co—”

_ “Mere, _this is a matter of life or death. Do you have aluminum foil at home?”

“Well, yes, I bought a new roll yesterday but I’m not done yet. Alya, you’d better—”

Ten minutes later, the lock clicked open as Alya barged in, making a beeline for the kitchen. Alya grabbed the aluminum foil from her mother’s grocery bag, darting out as quickly as she entered. 

* * *

When Alya reached the battle scene, she unrolled her aluminum foil and got to work, crumpling it and rolling it into a large shiny ball. She positioned the ball to catch the glare of the street lights and hid in a nearby alley, shining her phone flashlight at it to ensure that it would catch Magpie’s eye.

The flashlight reflected off the ball, distracting Magpie who swooped down to snag the glittering metal, giving Ladybug a chance to dust herself off and escape, and Alya a chance to get an unusually good camera angle despite being relatively well hidden. As she craned her neck to get a better view, Ladybug caught her eye, shooting her an appraising look and giving her a tiny nod before she swung away.

Magpie screeched in anger upon discovering the trick, flying away in search of the two superheroes, much too fast for Alya to follow on foot. She leaned her head against the wall, feeling the adrenaline rush fade and exhaustion begin to set in. Her tired musings were interrupted by a _ thunk _in front of her, as Ladybug landed, holding a now-familiar and beloved box out to her.

“You’re incredible, Alya,” Ladybug said as Alya wore her miraculous and nuzzled Trixx in greeting, “If you hadn’t stepped in when you did, me and Chat would still be out there getting beaten up — or worse”

Alya stared at Ladybug in shock. She couldn’t believe that her idol, her favorite superhero, was standing there thanking her for her efforts. Her. Plain, civilian, not enhanced by a miraculous Alya. So she did the first thing that came to mind, lunging at Ladybug and throwing her arms around her shoulders. Ladybug choked slightly when enveloped in Alya’s tight embrace, but she sank into it and hugged her back. “Wait here,” Ladybug whispered, “I’ll be back.” 

Ladybug returned with a familiar box. Alya let out the softest shriek of delight she could manage, flipping it open and hugging Trixx to her face. She activated her transformation and leaped into the air, unable to hide the smile on her face as she followed Ladybug back to the akuma. Ladybug winked at her from her vantage point across the street and mouthed, _ You know what to do. _And Alya did.

Alya pressed her flute to her lips, visualizing the mirage she needed, and released it, enveloping the entire neighborhood in shimmers of gold. The magic settled but the glitter did not, giving the streets below the appearance of being encrusted in gleaming gold and sparkling jewels. The display caught Magpie’s eye and he swooped down to scoop up some treasure, shattering the illusion as he touched it. Ladybug’s lucky charm, a rather convenient net, fell on Magpie, trapping him in place as Ladybug leapt down to retrieve his akumatized object. After a quick magical cleanse, the city was set right and Alya let out a long breath, jumping down to help Ladybug restrain the jewel thief until the police arrived to arrest him.

Ladybug readied her yo-yo to swing away but Alya caught her before she could. Alya was conflicted — Ladybug seemed like she’d been ready to leave before retrieving the fox miraculous, and was that intentional or was she just being forgetful? Was Alya giving up her only chance of keeping Trixx beyond the battlefield by voluntarily returning her miraculous, and was Ladybug’s trust worth that chance?

“I think,” Alya’s voice wavered and she silently cursed as she reached up to unclasp her necklace, “that you’ve forgotten something.”

Ladybug smiled at her, catching her wrist and gently tugging her arm away from her neck, “I think you’ve more than earned your keep.”


End file.
